The Birds of America by John James Auduborn John James Audubon (1785–1851) was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. Auduborn documented all types of American birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species. Audubon was born in Haiti on his fathers sugar plantation. He was the son of Lieutenant Jean Audubon, a French naval officer (and privateer) and his mistress Jeanne Rabine, a 27-year-old chambermaid. Auduborn was raised in France and immigrated to the United States at the age of 18. Auduborn cultivated his interest in the natural world at the family’s farm in Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. Audubon began to study American birds with a determination to illustrate his findings in a realistic manner. He conducted the first known bird-banding on the continent: he tied yarn to the legs of Eastern Phoebes and determined that they returned to the same nesting spots year after year. He also began drawing and painting birds, and recording their behavior. Audubon traveled south on the Mississippi with his gun, paintbox, and assistant Joseph Mason. He was committed to find and paint all the birds of North America for eventual publication. This monumental work consists of 435 hand-colored, life-size prints of 497 bird species, made from engraved copper plates of various sizes depending on the size of the image. They were printed on sheets measuring about 39 by 26 inches. The work contains just over 700 North American bird species. Colorists applied each color in assembly-line fashion (over fifty were hired for the work). The original edition was engraved in aquatint by Robert Havel Jr. Source: Wikipedia and Auduborn Society.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 21:35:13 +0000
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